


Evanesce

by carolinecrane



Series: Retrograde [13]
Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-02-12
Updated: 2004-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-28 01:31:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6308977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler tries and fails to understand Speed's family dynamic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Evanesce

For a few seconds Tyler stood trapped between Tim and the teenager who was, apparently, Tim's brother. The tension was almost palpable. He could feel it radiating off Tim, and he could tell that under his brother's cocky grin there was something else: apprehension, or maybe resentment. He had no idea what their history was, but he knew Tim didn't have much to do with his family, and just for a second he wished he'd let the kid walk away when he thought he'd rang the wrong doorbell.

As soon as he thought it he felt guilty, but they'd been getting somewhere before Tim's brother showed up, and Tyler couldn't help regretting the interruption. Even if they'd spent the rest of the night not talking about anything he would have been happy, because at least he knew now. He knew Tim wanted him around enough to try, and that was a lot more than he'd been expecting when he showed up tonight.

They were still staring at each other, so Tyler cleared his throat and stepped out of the way to let Tim's brother brush past him. He felt Tim tense up even more behind him, and this was definitely a situation he never thought he'd find himself in. He hadn't even thought about the possibility of meeting Tim's family; he tried not to think that far ahead, and the few times he had he just reminded himself that Tim didn't talk to them anyway. Only now he was following Tim and his brother into the living room...a brother Tim had only mentioned once, and it was obvious from the set of his jaw that Tim wasn't happy to see him.

"Nice place," Matt said, grin still firmly in place and Tyler fought back a wince at the way Tim's jaw twitched.

"What is wrong with you?" Tim demanded, arms crossed over his chest in a way Tyler knew meant he was more uncomfortable than usual. "Mom just called here looking for you. You take off with your friends and you can't even call and let her know you made it? It's irresponsible, man. You know how she gets."

"Yeah, wonder whose fault that is."

Matt's smile was gone, his expression as dark as Tim's and it was a little eerie how similar they looked when they were scowling at each other. He caught the way Tim flinched at Matt's accusation, and even though he had no idea what it meant he had a feeling it was important. He knew Tim wasn't going to explain it, though, not now and possibly not ever.

"Just call her," Tim said, voice low and Tyler wondered if Matt knew Tim well enough to know what that tone meant. He had a feeling the answer was no, because as soon as Tim said it Matt was smirking again.

"In a minute. So are you gonna introduce me to your boyfriend or what? He is your boyfriend, right?"

Tim glanced over his shoulder, and for a second Tyler was almost sure Tim had forgotten he was standing there. He wondered suddenly if he should have let himself out when Matt invited himself in – maybe Tim was ready to meet his friends, but he might not want an audience for this.

"Matt, this is Tyler. Tyler, this is my brother, who's going to call his mother before she starts calling the cops."

"I thought that was why she called you," Matt shot back, his grin firmly in place as he made his way over to the phone.

Tyler waited until Matt was across the room to look at Tim again, and he was getting pretty tired of playing the supportive boyfriend, but he heard himself say the words before he could stop them anyway. "Do you want me to go?"

He told himself he wasn't going to be disappointed when Tim said yes. He expected it – they were still working things out, after all, and neither of them had planned for Tim's brother to show up out of nowhere. So he knew the answer before he asked the question, but that didn't make it hurt any less when Tim sighed and looked down at the floor between them. "I should probably find out what he wants. It's just tonight – he's here with his friends, he won't want to hang around me all week. It's…"

"Family stuff, I know," Tyler interrupted. "I understand."

And it wasn't a lie – he did understand, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He took a few steps toward the door, telling himself he wasn't hoping that Tim would stop him. He was almost out of the room when a voice did call out, and he paused and turned before he realized it wasn't Tim who'd said his name.

"Hey, don't leave on my account," Matt said, waving distractedly in Tyler's direction before he turned back to the phone. "What? No, Ma, not you. I was talking to Tim's boyfriend."

There was a brief pause, and Tyler just had time to glance at Tim and see his murderous expression before Matt started talking again. "I don't know, he was here when I got here."

He still had no idea what the deal was with Tim's family, but he was starting to get the impression their falling out had something to do with the fact that Tim was gay. If that was true he didn't blame Tim for keeping his distance, but he wasn't going to stand around and watch Tim blame himself for his parents' attitudes, either. "Listen, Tim…"

Tim glanced at him, eyes a little wide, as though he was surprised to find Tyler still standing there. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded because there was nothing else he could do, letting himself out of the apartment and heading back to his car. As soon as the door closed behind him he regretted leaving; he knew it was stupid, but he still had to fight the urge to turn around and ring the doorbell again. One conversation with his brother wasn't going to change Tim's mind about them, but that wasn't how it felt when Tim let him walk out without so much as a second glance.

It would help if he knew anything about Tim's family, but so far he'd only mentioned a few things about his father's restaurants. He knew Tim _had_ a brother, that he was in college somewhere near home. That was all Tim had said, though, and Tyler was starting to think he should have asked for more. He wanted to know everything about Tim – not just the stuff about work and the latest in forensics and his secrets to the perfect marinara.

He wanted to know about Tim's past, about his family and what made him into the person he was. He _should_ know all that stuff, because they'd been together for almost three months and those were the kinds of things most couples talked about right at the beginning. Only Tim wasn't like most people, and their relationship had been anything but typical so far. Asking Tim to meet his friends was a huge step, and now that his brother was in the picture Tyler wasn't sure that was going to happen. Maybe he wouldn't use the fact that his brother was in town to get out of their date – maybe Tyler should give him the benefit of the doubt, but he had a feeling the next time he saw Tim he was going to get a speech about bad timing and family obligations.

When he reached his own apartment he let himself in, tossing his keys on the counter and checking his messages. He knew Tim hadn't called to ask him to come back, but he swallowed a disappointed sigh anyway when there was no message on his machine. And he'd just been home to change an hour ago, but the silence in his apartment felt heavier now.

He considered calling Tim and telling him to come over when his brother left; he got as far as picking up the phone before he talked himself out of it and set it back down again. That was another one of those things that normal couples did, and he was starting to think 'normal' was never going to apply to them.


End file.
